Two things make your objection less relevant. First, Amsterdam had similar problems to the US in the post-war era until the 1970s. That is, the cities were bei

Two things make your objection less relevant. First, Amsterdam had similar problems to the US in the post-war era until the 1970s. That is, the cities were being rebuilt for cars, bicycling infrastructure became worse, and traffic deaths rose. The city had to be re-engineered to get where it is now. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=3&v=XuBdf9jYj7o https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=3&v=XuBdf9jYj7o for a video. Second, and concerning topology, look to Trondheim, Norway as an example of a bike-friendly city with hills. And from what I've read, Portland, Oregon is also pretty bike friendly, with similar topology to Seattle. So, why can't Seattle be more like Portland in this respect?